Four is Enough

I’ve been thinking about having kids lately - particularly, whether I want 1 or 4. Maybe it’s because our class just finished four weeks of OBGYN lectures and I watched “Miracle of Life” for my fourth time. Or maybe it’s because I did my first pelvic exam last week and I’m excited for my rotation in August where I’ll be working with a midwife. Whatever the trigger, I’m definitely having a case of baby fever.

Yesterday at church, there was a couple sitting in front of us with their 2 year old son. When we were sitting, he was standing and jumping. At silent moments, he would vocally point at his book of trucks. I tried my hardest not to encourage his misbehavior, but I couldn’t help looking at him and then doing what I do with all babies that make eye contact with me – flare my nostrils. Even though I found him amusing, he was a misery for his parents, and more so, for the priest who was trying to conduct the service.

So that brings me back to the issue of having 1 child or a Brady bunch. I can’t imagine the energy it will take to raise just one child: what to do when he/she misbehaves in public, how to deal with sleepless nights, and for someone who cleans obsessively, the amount of laundry and hygiene it will take to keep the child drool-free. Then I think about my grandmother, who birthed and raised 12 children. If she can do it with the grace and fortitude that my mother and uncles tell me, then so can I. Now, that’s my inspiration for having 4 children.

Submitted by: Cristina